Narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies performs this intriguing mystery set during the Victorian era in London. Intrepid PI Charles Field, formerly of the Metropolitan Police, is investigating the murders of several women. The crimes and the clues he uncovers remind him of a series of cases he was involved in the Crimea, when strong-willed, no-nonsense Florence Nightingale and her scrupulous nurses were stalked by a relentless serial killer. The self-assured Field, whom Davies voices as being from London, must sort through a multitude of suspects before the killer strikes out at the nurses again. Davies struggles with differentiating British characters, his sotto voce delivery is inaudible, and Turkish and Italian characters often mumble. Sound levels are uneven throughout.
Pub Date: May 9, 2023
Duration: 10 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668628348
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Leighton Pugh's resonant baritone and evenly paced performance help orient listeners in this detail-packed novel. The alternate-history story posits that famed WWII mathematician Alan Turing invented a machine that he used to influence the location of the Normandy Invasion after the fact. The time machine is then passed to his son (born of a one-night stand with a female friend who knew that Turing was gay), and thence to his granddaughter. Each must wrestle with how to use the machine to influence history. Pugh's authoritative English voice and skill with accents lend verisimilitude to the premise. Some audible animation might have made the story sound more action-packed, but in truth, his equable delivery suits the writing in this imaginative debut.
Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780063485105
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George Blagden's pleasant performance of William Boyd's second suspense novel about occasional spy Gabriel Dax floats equably along like a story told over a glass of postprandial whiskey. It's an adventure set in 1963 England and Berlin, where, between conducting MI5 jobs, Dax and his compatriots savor many cocktails and cigarettes. Blagden's vocal register rarely varies from mid-tenor, a range that risks sounding uninflected but seems right for our hero, who is a young man, a young man caught up in the Cold War and world-changing events, including President Kennedy's famous Berlin visit. Blagden's command of American, Russian, and Latin accents adds to the verisimilitude. While indistinguishable females all murmur softly, it makes them sound mysterious and of another era.
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668157763
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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